Thursday, November 24, 2011

Game Day, Week 12: The playoffs have begun

Morkeith Brown, Adrian Robinson and Daquan Cooper will be all smilesonce again if the Owls beat Kent State to secure a bowl bid.

According to the NCAA, bowl games can't start until December but you might want to call Temple's game on Friday against Kent State as Philadelphia's first college bowl game since the Liberty Bowl in 1961.That's because, if Temple wins, it has a pretty good shot at going to a bowl.If Temple loses, it has almost no shot.Call it a bowl game to play a bowl game then.Or a playoff game.

That's what Kee-ayre Griffin did in the Tuesday presser this week and the ball-hawking Temple right-cornerback is completely right.Win and advance.Lose and go home.That's what the playoffs are all about.That's what this game means to Temple.Temple has been mentioned for three bowls if it goes 8-4 and those are in California, New Mexico and Idaho.Late Thursday night, it was learned that Liberty Bowl officials have also requested credentials for Friday's game, even though it would appear that matchup is likely set. (Maybe there could be some jockeying and trading of teams we don't know about. Still an interesting development.)

Why work or shop on a day this beautiful when you canenjoy it outside watching Temple football?

Temple's team will have to show up for this one, like it did against Army, Penn State and Maryland. If the team that shows up against Bowling Green or Ohio surfaces again, it'll be time to pack the helmets and the shoulder pads away.It would also be nice if Temple's fans showed up, especially the 130,000 alumni living in Philadelphia, because the students are away on break.Most alumni have off Friday, most of them don't like to shop and their presence is needed to impress any bowl officials in attendance. If there was ever a call to arms (and feet and backsides) for Temple fans to attend a regular-season home game, this is it.Nothing would impress the suits who represent the bowls more than a big crowd.Temple's players plan to take care of business or, in this case, bidness.As I see it, Temple's got to follow Steve Addazio's plan to win.That is, play great defense, make a difference on the special teams (a punt block like the ones vs. Penn State and Maryland might be in order), limit turnovers and use the run to set up the pass.That last part is important because if Bernard Pierce and Matty Brown get going, Kent State is going to load up the box. Once that happens, Chris Coyer is going to use deft play-action faking to find Joey Jones, Evan Rodriguez and Rod Streater because that initial fake will freeze the defense enough to free those guys. I expect those four to make explosive plays down the field.

MAC BLOGGER ROUNDTABLE

This week's host for the MAC Blogger Roundtable is B.J. Fischer of Bowling Green's Falcon blog.His questions:Who is the MAC Offensive Player of the Year?TFF: Bernard Pierce, Temple ... can't argue with his touchdown numbers.Who is the MAC Defensive Player of the Year?TFF: Adrian Robinson, Temple... was the defensive player of the year and eschewed the draft last year and it turned out to be a great decision because he moved up from a projected fourth-rounder to a projected second.Who is the MAC Player of the Year?TFF: Eric Page, ToledoWho is the MAC Special teams Player of the Year?TFF: Eric Page, ToledoWho is the MAC Freshman of the Year?TFF: Titus Davis, Central Michigan. The first-team all-state receiver from Wheaton, Ill. did not disappoint this year. He got on the field and performed right away. Ryan Brumfield of EMU did not get on the field much because he had a pair of studs ahead of him, but I suspect he will make a big-time impact down the line.Who is the MAC Coach of the Year?TFF: Pete Lembo, Ball State. ... the former Lehigh coach said, after losing to Temple, 42-0, "that's the kind of team we're looking to become in four years." Then, shortly after that, forced the clock ahead four years by doing something Temple could not do: Win at Ohio. Still had the same players.Who is your team's MVP.TFF: Bernard Pierce.Rank 'em:1) Northern Illinois2) Toledo3) Ohio4) Temple5) Western Michigan6) Ball State7) Eastern Michigan8) Bowling Green9) Central Michigan10) Miami11) Kent State12) Buffalo13) Akron